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Exam revision tips and techniques
BBC Wed, 7 May 08 10:42:48 BST
Ofqual's exams doctor George Turnbull has advice for those taking exams.
Government blames high truancy rates on viruses
GUARDIAN Tue, 06 May 2008 14:21:49 GMT
Provisional statistics suggest record numbers of children skipped school last year
The rise of 'contract cheating' at universities
GUARDIAN Tue, 06 May 2008
Jessica Shepherd investigates the rise of 'contract cheating', the latest trend in plagiarism, and finds the essays you buy online may not even be any good
School attended by Balls' children judged failing
GUARDIAN Fri, 02 May 2008
Schools secretary refusing to comment after north London primary school attended by his children is placed in special measures by Ofsted
More pupils than ever considering university
GUARDIAN Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:24:43 GMT
In spite of the potential burden of loans, three in every four students are thinking seriously about HE, according to survey
Tables 'restrict A-level choices'
BBC Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:19:09 GMT
The pressure of league tables forces independent and state schools to stop pupils taking difficult subjects, it is claimed.

"To support our children in the state sector we should fight against league tables.

"Science and languages are disappearing from state schools because they are too hard.

"League tables are corrosive."

"The league tables put massive pressure on headmasters to do bad things.

"There is tremendous pressure on all schools not to let pupils into the sixth form if they're not going to make the grade.

"League tables brand a failing school on the forehead and make it very hard for a school to get out of failure."
Canadian university had banned the term "Israeli Apartheid" as "hate speech"
IRAQ-WAR Sun, 27 Apr 2008
Over the past several months of 2008, Israel advocacy organizations have entered a period of ongoing mobilization in an effort to decisively counter what they see as the growing influence and impact of the Palestine solidarity movement.

After spending years trying to find its footing in the aftermath of the Oslo Accords, the Palestine solidarity movement has found a new strategic focus with the emergence of the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), which has effectively shifted the terms of the Israel-Palestine debate and presented a clear analysis of the apartheid reality facing Palestinians.

These shifts have thrown the mainstream Zionist movement into a state of crisis as it finds itself unable to effectively counter the charge of apartheid. In addition, Zionist organizations find themselves increasingly isolated (with the exception of right-wing, conservative and Christian evangelical circles) as the solidarity movement continues to gain traction amongst an ever larger spectrum of audiences and organizations.

It is against this backdrop that a divided Zionist movement is seeking ways to reverse their organizational and ideological disarray. Most significantly, the emergence of this repressive trend directed at Palestine solidarity work is converging with a broader targeting of students who are active in other struggles.
Biggest strike for years forces schools to shut
ITVLOCAL
Over 300 schools closed as teachers take protests to street
Level of students' complaints dismissed by minister
GUARDIAN Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:29:27 GMT
Education minister plays down the rising number of student complaints about the quality of UK university education
More like university than school: the Swedish academies coming to England
GUARDIAN Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:06:05 GMT
System seen as flavour of month by parties anxious to improve standards
Business to fund 30,000 new places in university shake-up
GUARDIAN Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:06:05 GMT
Universities secretary lays out plans to reshape universities by making them more business-friendly
Council admits spying on family when their school application was valid
BBC dup school/civil l
A council admits spying on a family using laws to track criminals and terrorists to find out if they were living in a school catchment area.

A couple and their three children were put under surveillance without their knowledge by Poole Borough Council for more than two weeks.

The council admitted using powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) on six occasions in total.

Human rights pressure group Liberty called the spying "ridiculously disproportionate" and "intrusive".

James Welch, legal director for Liberty, said: "It's one thing to use covert surveillance in operations investigating terrorism and other serious crimes, but it has come to a pretty pass when this kind of intrusive activity is used to police school catchment areas.

"This is a ridiculously disproportionate use of RIPA and will undermine public trust in necessary and lawful surveillance."
Higher education sector nets £21bn
GUARDIAN Fri, 11 Apr 2008
Bulk of income comes from tuition fees, grants and contracts
Half of schools could close over teachers' strike
GUARDIAN Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:29:45 GMT
Nearly half of schools will be forced to close when teachers strike later this month, survey suggests
NUS split over decision to drop fight over tuition fees
GUARDIAN Fri, 04 Apr 2008
Student body to focus attention on keeping increases down according to newly elected president
Paris protests follow job cuts
PRESSTV Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:02:43 GMT
Demonstrators clashed with riot police in Paris at the start of a student march against education job cuts, with youths throwing beverage cans.
Tuition fees could double, study warns
GUARDIAN Thu, 03 Apr 2008
Study also suggests students could be made to pay before they start their courses
Schools named and shamed to stop abuse of admissions law
GUARDIAN Thu, 03 Apr 2008
Ministers launch crackdown on schools covertly selecting pupils after research confirms one in six schools may be breaking admissions laws
A regrettable move
GUARDIAN Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:10:32 GMT
From the murmurs of agreement, it seemed Ed Balls, the education secretary, had almost won over teachers half-way through his speech to the Nasuwt union conference in Birmingham last week
On teaching: Computers are no substitute for the real thing
GUARDIAN Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:10:32 GMT
Computers are no substitute for the real thing, says Phil Beadle
Millions in 'wrong job' says poll
BBC Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:03:45 GMT
Many people's skills and time are being wasted in the wrong job, often due to poor careers advice, a poll suggests.
Row over 'sale' of school fields
BBC Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:46:38 GMT
The government reacts angrily to a report on sales approved by the schools secretary and his predecessor
Is music the key to academic gains?
BBC Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:10:02 GMT
Can learning a musical instrument help your child's overall academic performance in school?

Studies have been carried out in this field in Canada, where - in one case - researchers found musically trained children (aged four to six) performed better in memory tests than those who had no instrument lessons over the course of the year-long programme.

In another study, Professor Glenn Schellenberg of the University of Toronto, found that the IQ scores of six-year-olds who had taken keyboard or voice lessons were, on average, three points higher than normal.

Despite claims and counter-claims, there is no dispute that music of any kind stimulates the brain and early music training of any kind may influence brain development.

Professor Raymond MacDonald who specialises in musical psychology said. "There is now considerable evidence that taking part in musical activities can influence other areas of our development.

"And there is no doubt that music can play a very important role in a young child's development."
White working-class the worst GCSE students, study finds
GUARDIAN Thu, 27 Mar 2008
White working-class teenagers perform worse than their black and Asian classmates in GCSEs, research finds
Degree funding switch criticised
BBC Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:32:07 GMT
An committee of MPs say they cannot support the cut in funding for people taking second degrees.
Second degree funding cuts flawed, say MPs
GUARDIAN Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:10:14 GMT
A cross-party committee of MPs condemn the government's controversial policy of cutting £100m for "second-chance" students
SKorea univ sues Yale for $50m
PRESSTV Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:30:57 GMT
A South Korean university is suing Yale University for $50m over a fake degree scandal which has caused "irreparable damage" to its fame.
Student prisoners 'had £730,000'
BBC Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:24:35 GMT
Three times as much as previously thought was paid in student loans and grants to prisoners.
Spoilt brats in classroom on the rise, warns union
GUARDIAN Tue, 25 Mar 2008
More spoilt 'little princes and princesses' in class· Academies accused of depriving staff of their rights
Class sizes 'a national scandal' - class sizes of up to 55
BBC Mon, 24 Mar 2008
Pupils are being taught in class sizes of up to 55 in some parts of the country, teachers have claimed.

Delegates at the annual NUT conference in Manchester said excessive class sizes were a "national scandal" and entrenched social inequality.
Spoilt children 'disrupt schools'
BBC Sat, 22 Mar 2008 04:26 GMT
Primary schools struggle to cope with the fall-out from parents unable to say "no" to their children, say teachers.

Primary schoolchildren spoilt by their parents can cause disruption in the classroom by repeating manipulative behaviour used at home, a report says.

Research for the National Union of Teachers (NUT) suggested a minority of children threw tantrums, swore and were physically aggressive.

NUT boss Steve Sinnott is calling for more advice for parents who struggle to say "no" to their children.

Cambridge University held 60 interviews with staff and pupils in 10 schools.

The report was released at the union's annual conference in Manchester.

It cited examples of children who stayed up to the early hours and played on violent computer games.
Teachers threaten strike action over class sizes
GUARDIAN Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:19:45 GMT
Teachers threaten a nationwide strike unless the government promises to reduce class sizes
Teachers to vote on class sizes
BBC Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:26:20 GMT
Teachers are to vote on whether to demand the government reduces class sizes to 20 pupils.
Universities face big drop in school-leavers in next decade
GUARDIAN Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:29:39 GMT
The number of school-leavers is expected to plummet over the next 10 years, leaving 70,000 university places unfilled
UK student numbers 'set to fall'
BBC Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:42:11 GMT
Numbers of UK students are expected to fall over the next decade - but more students are coming from overseas.
Schools minister heckled at teachers' conference for backing large class sizes
GUARDIAN Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:27:44 GMT
Jim Knight suggests it's 'perfectly acceptable' to teach classes of up to 70
Decades to fix school buildings
BBC Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:27:23 GMT
A third of schools in Scotland are still in poor or bad condition despite substantial investment, a report claims.
George Cole on the arrival of mini laptops in two schools
GUARDIAN Tue, 18 Mar 2008
It's smaller then a textbook and cheaper than many software packages. George Cole visits two schools using the first in a new breed of mini laptops
Universities fear imminent student drought
GUARDIAN Thu, 20 Mar 2008
The number of school leavers is expected to plummet over the next 10 years, leaving the equivalent of nearly six universities unfilled
£10.4bn skills council scrapped
BBC Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:02:00 GMT
The Learning and Skills Council is to be abolished, as local authorities take charge of training places up to 18.
Cambridge drops language demand
BBC Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:47:49 GMT
Cambridge says students no longer need a language GCSE as it tries to boost state school applications.
Coping with school admissions angst
BBC Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:36:30 GMT
Mike Baker appeals for calm amid the anxiety over admissions day.
Islam may be taught at German schools
PRESSTV Fri, 14 Mar 2008 05:44:09 GMT
A conference in Germany agrees to have religious instruction in Islam made available to Muslims attending German schools.
Teachers to discuss backing Palestinians
GUARDIAN Thu, 13 Mar 2008
A teachers' union looks set to reignite the row over the boycott of Israel, which divided university lecturers last year and triggered an international storm
MoD accused of propaganda in Iraq worksheets for schools
GUARDIAN Fri, 14 Mar 2008
Balls asks MoD to investigate teachers' claims that their worksheets for provide a one-sided view on the Iraq war
Iraq: teachers told to rewrite history
INDEPENDENT Fri, 14 Mar 2008
Britain's biggest teachers' union has accused the Ministry of Defence of breaking the law over a lesson plan drawn up to teach pupils about the Iraq war. The National Union of Teachers claims it breaches the 1996 Education Act, which aims to ensure all political issues are treated in a balanced way.

Teachers will threaten to boycott military involvement in schools at the union's annual conference next weekend, claiming the lesson plan is a "propaganda" exercise and makes no mention of any civilian casualties as a result of the war.
Fewer pupils offered preferred school place
GUARDIAN Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:09:56 GMT
Official government figures to be released this morning are expected to show that fewer children were offered a secondary school place of their choice this year, compared with 2007.

The statistics, which will embarrass the government, have prompted children's secretary Ed Balls to have a fresh look at the current schools admissions system - just 12 months after it was introduced.

The decision to review how children are allocated a secondary school place comes a week after the Guardian revealed that up to 120,000 out of 560,000 children failed to get their first choice school this year.
Overseas students 'buying essays' - "It's another example of universities turning into businesses"
BBC Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:59:59 GMT
An essay writing firm reports a sharp increase in overseas students buying essays for their degree courses.

A spokesman for UKEssays.com says the rise in demand is caused by universities recruiting students with inadequate English language skills.

"It's another example of universities turning into businesses. They're happy to get the fees from overseas students - but they don't provide enough language support," says Jed Hallam, spokesman for the essay-writing firm.

The rise in students buying essays, he claims, reflects the number of overseas students studying in the UK with "very poor written and verbal skills".

Mr Hallam says overseas students buying essays have paid high levels of fees and feel under great pressure to get a good degree - but find themselves struggling with written English.

There have been cases where students have had difficulty even understanding the question they have been set, he says, let alone being able to produce a degree-level written answer.

The essay-writing firm accuses universities of turning a blind eye to the problem of overseas students with poor written English - with financial pressure overcoming any academic doubts.

About one in seven students in UK universities are from overseas - about 330,000 students who bring in an estimated £10bn each year.
5 dead, 13 wounded at Illinois university
PRESSTV Fri, 15 Feb 2008 02:59:50 GMT
A shooting rampage in Northern Illinois University, east of Chicago, has killed six people, inflicting injuries on 16 others.

The dead include the suspected gunman, who reportedly died from a self-inflicted gunshot and is believed to have been a student at the university. No name has, however, been released as to the assailant or the victims.

A student from the university informed the local radio station WBBM that the perpetrator stormed into an auditorium and opened fire indiscriminately on the more than 100 students inside.
Four students shot dead by gunman in Illinois university
GUARDIAN Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:55:12 GMT
'Skinny white guy' opens fire at Northern Illinois university before turning weapon on himself
Three levels of terror risk
GUARDIAN Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:14:45 GMT
The government is issuing guidance to colleges on how to prevent extremism taking hold among students. Peter Kingston reports

All colleges are going to have to assess what risk they face from violent extremism and terrorism, according to guidance issued by the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (Dius) yesterday.

However, universities, which were recently issued with similar guidance, are not required to carry out risk assessments. This is not because universities are in a stronger position to resist the government. It is because ministers reckon that universities have already conducted such assessments, according to a spokesman for Dius.

Launching it, the higher education minister, Bill Rammell, said the government believed the biggest threat that colleges and universities face is from al-Qaida-influenced terrorism. "Our judgment is that the threat in FE colleges is serious but not widespread," he said.

"This is not about asking people to spy on students," Rammell said. "It's about taking sensible steps to promote the safety of students. Muslim students are every bit at risk from violent extremism as non-Muslims."

These sensible steps would include, for instance, having a policy on the booking of college rooms for events, having someone who can translate material that might be distributed in leaflets on campus, informing students of how they can report any concerns about being intimidated, and giving out information about the methodology of violent extremists.
Professional overkill
GUARDIAN Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:14:46 GMT
OK, the government wants workers to be better qualified, but does every job really require a degree? Jessica Shepherd reports
Backing peer review
GUARDIAN Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:14:47 GMT
Academics all over the UK are calling for a delay to the government's new research evaluation system. Anthea Lipsett and Natasha Gilbert report
Large secondary schools reject critical documentary
GUARDIAN Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:19:05 GMT
School leaders have rejected claims due to be made in a documentary that large secondary schools are failing children